This invention relates to eyeglass temple or bow construction and more particularly to the manner in which they engage the wearer's ear.
The most common form of eyeglass bow construction consists of two bows connected on either side of a front frame portion which supports the lenses and rests upon the wearer's nose bridge. The bows extend backwardly from the front frame to a length extending slightly beyond the ear, press against wearer's temples and rest upon wearer's ear-to-temple junction. Such bows terminate in a straight portion above and behind the ear, or in a curved portion that curves down behind the wearer's ear to varying degrees. Although quite popular, these present eyeglass bow constructions require a pressure engagement of the temple area, or a firm "hooking" behind the wearer's ear, both of which can be quite uncomfortable, and they nevertheless permit substantial eyeglass slippage on the inclined plane of the nose.
Other prior art constructions have provided a bow that terminates in a short bend terminating in large balls that fit into the front rims of the ears near their lower ends. Another design has incorporated a similar short bend terminating in a curved portion that fits behind the upper front portion of the ear. Such designs prevent forward linear motion of the bows and lens frames as the frames tend to slide down the nose. However due to the significantly greater weight of the lenses and frames compared to the bows, and the steep incline of many nose bridges, a major factor that tends to dislodge eyeglasses from their proper position is not forward linear motion of the glasses, but rather downward rotation of the lens frames and bows about an axis where the distal ends of the bows engage the ears. None of the prior art devices have been designed to resist this rotation about the ear.